Indian man assaulted in New Zealand

Wellington, March 6 (IANS) An Indian national here has said that he was assaulted, spat at and subjected to a racist tirade during a road rage incident in Auckland city, a media report said.

Narindervir Singh said that he was filming from inside his vehicle when the incident happened last week, reported local news service Newshub on Monday.

“I gave him a space … that lady gave me the finger. He was driving that car (pointing to a white Holden) and now he’s trying to threaten me, giving me bad names,” Singh said in the video, which was being streamed live on Facebook.

After Singh informed the driver that he’s uploading the video live, the situation escalated and Singh was abused, sworn at and told to go back to his own country, the report said.

The abuser, who is seen in video wearing a grey t-shirt, was tail-gating according to Singh, who said he simply pulled over to let him pass. The man also made derogatory remarks about Punjabi people, Newshub report said.

“It really shocked me and after he [left], I was really shaken,” Singh told the news service.

“I don’t know what to do, it really hurts my heart … The first thing in my mind was that he might hurt me with some weapon.”

When Singh left, he assumed it was all over. But when he parked on a nearby side street, he said the white Holden pulled up once again and the racist rant continued.

Another man, Bikramjit Singh, suffered similar abuse last week as he left a Papatoetoe storage facility, reported Newshub.

A man who claimed Bikramjit was speeding yelled at him, saying: “Go back to your f*****g country – slow down! You know what the speed limit is here.”

However, Bikramjit said he wasn’t speeding, is a New Zealand citizen and has lived here for more than a decade.

“[It made me feel] so sad because New Zealand is so beautiful – there are lovely people here.”

The man who hurled abuse at Bikramjit ended up apologising in an email.

However, those who work with migrants say such discrimination appears to be increasing, said the report.

“We are seeing it much more openly which is a very serious concern,” said Anu Kaloti from the Migrant Workers Association.

“I think societies are becoming more and more intolerant, especially since Trump was elected President of the US.”